legends · 4 min read ·
Space 12
A rented garage space is always occupied overnight by another car, and the advertisement says it has always been used.
**ParkRent — Listing #88214**
**Garage space, Kestle Row, Space 12** · £95/month · Secure, lit, 24-hour access
*Rear garage block. Remote-controlled roller door. Suitable for standard cars. No vans.*
**Posted by:** Mr. T. Ibbotson
· · ·
**Messages — Mr. Ibbotson / D. Cole (prospective tenant)**
**D. Cole (2 Oct):** Is Space 12 still free? I'm after somewhere for a Honda Civic.
**T. Ibbotson (2 Oct):** Yes, it is. Free from today.
**D. Cole (2 Oct):** Great. Can I come and view it this evening?
**T. Ibbotson (2 Oct):** You can view it at any time. The door is always open. The space is the one at the end on the left.
· · ·
**D. Cole (4 Oct):** Moved in. Quick question. There are already marks on the floor of 12, oil patches and tyre tracks. Is someone else using it?
**T. Ibbotson (4 Oct):** No. Nobody else has a key.
**D. Cole (4 Oct):** The tracks are fresh. And the bay was warm when I parked, like a car had just left.
**T. Ibbotson (4 Oct):** It's an insulated block. It holds heat.
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**D. Cole (9 Oct):** Is there any chance a different car is being parked in my space overnight? I came to collect my Civic this morning and there was another vehicle in 12, a dark saloon, engine ticking as it cooled. My Civic wasn't there. I assumed it had been stolen. I rang the police.
**T. Ibbotson (9 Oct):** I'm sorry to hear that. The police won't find it. It will turn up.
**D. Cole (9 Oct):** How do you know?
**T. Ibbotson (9 Oct):** Because it did.
**D. Cole (9 Oct, later):** I went back after lunch. The saloon had gone. My Civic was back in the bay, as if it had never moved. The driver's door was unlocked. The seat was pushed all the way back, and the mirror turned, and the radio tuned to a station I don't listen to.
· · ·
**D. Cole (14 Oct):** I'd like to give notice. There's something wrong with the space. I have been recording the garage with a camera for a week. Every night, around 3 am, a car arrives and parks in 12, moving my Civic out of the way. I can't see how. The Civic isn't driven. It is shifted, sideways, a metre at a time, like a chess piece. The other car goes in. At dawn it's gone.
I've watched the footage of the other car's driver. I can't see his face. He gets out and stands for a moment at the door of the garage, looking out at the lane, and then he gets back in. He looks, I think, like someone who's lived in the space a very long time.
**T. Ibbotson (14 Oct):** I understand. Notice period is 30 days.
· · ·
**Refund dispute (ParkRent, 1 Nov)**
**D. Cole (1 Nov):** I've left the garage and I've taken my car. I want my deposit back, and the last month's rent, since I wasn't able to use the space. I used it for 27 days. I paid £95. The space was occupied 24 of those days by another car.
**T. Ibbotson (1 Nov):** Deposit refunded in full. Rent not refundable. The space was available at all times.
**D. Cole (1 Nov):** It wasn't. Someone was in it.
**T. Ibbotson (1 Nov):** Yes. It is Space 12. It has always been used by someone. That was in the listing.
**D. Cole (1 Nov):** Where?
**T. Ibbotson (1 Nov):** Where it says. "Secure, lit, 24-hour access."
· · ·
**ParkRent moderation note (3 Nov)**
Listing #88214 removed. The owner, Mr. T. Ibbotson, has been unreachable since 1 November. The garage block at Kestle Row is not on the council's register. The nearest address is a car park at the end of the lane, with eleven bays. They are numbered 1 to 11.
The dispute was resolved in favour of the owner. Rent is not refundable. No further listings may be posted by this account.
*The account's last activity was posted at 03:14 on 4 Nov: a new listing, #88301. "Garage space, Kestle Row, Space 13. £95/month. The door is always open."*